DataCite Support

Welcome to DataCite's support site. Here you will find helpful information about our services. We have included comprehensive technical guides, training materials, and tips to help you successfully use DataCite services. Use the search bar or browse the categories to find the information you are looking for!

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DataCite Content Resolver

What is the DataCite Content Resolver?

The DataCite Content Resolver allows you to retrieve a particular representation of DOI in different formats. A content negotiated request to a DOI resolver is very similar to a standard HTTP request, but based on the list of acceptable content types.

It can be used by an HTTP client by configuring its HTTP Accept headers, or directly through a browser, constructing a URL.

Citation Formatter

Who can use the DataCite Content Resolver?

The Content Resolver is open to the whole community and does not require authentication. It is particularly designed to provide direct access to all our DOIs, simplify integrations and avoid format conversions.

How does the DataCite Content Resolver work?

The DOI proxy at doi.org will normally redirect a user to the resource location URL of a DOI. For example, the DOI "10.5284/1015681" redirects to a landing page describing the dataset, "Excavation of a Romano-British Cemetery...". Content negotiated requests to doi.org that ask for a content type which isn't "text/html" will be redirected to the metadata service hosted by DataCite.

Requests for a data type redirect to a registration agency's metadata service.

Content Negotiation

Making a content negotiated request requires the use of the Accept HTTP header. Content types that are acceptable to the client (those that it knows how to parse), each with an optional "quality" value indicating its relative suitability. For example, a client that wishes to receive citeproc JSON if it is available, but which can also handle RDF XML if citeproc JSON is unavailable, would make a request with an Accept header listing both "application/citeproc+json" and "application/rdf+xml":

This request favours citeproc JSON but will accept RDF XML if citeproc is unavailable. The q values are optional. The request could have been written without them. The order of content types then becomes important; more suitable content types should be placed at the front of the Accept header.

DataCite supports different response codes, listed below. If multiple content types specified by the client are supported by a DOI then the content type with the highest "q" value (or, if no "q" values are specified, the one that appears first in the "accept" header) will be returned.

Code

Meaning

200

The request was OK.

204

The request was OK but there was no metadata available.

404

The DOI requested doesn't exist.

Link-based Content Type Requests

DataCite supports link-based content type requests. This method can be used with a regular web browser. In order to get a specific format please construct a URL following this pattern: https://data.datacite.org/MIME_TYPE/DOI.

Extra parameters, e.g. when using the text/x-bliography content type, can be included, e.g.